Samus and Batman:Part 4
by thedarkknightreturns
Summary: Batman discovers the cure for Phazon mutation, and Samus gets a disconcerting message from the Space Pirates. Only one part left to write!


Samus and Batman:Part 4

Batman held up the bright orange stone in his hand. It was about the size of a baseball. "Whatever in the world is that, sir?", inquired Alfred. "I found it while I was on Apokolips. I had to rip it out of some old spaceship. I call it Orange Kryptonite.", Batman replied. "Are you certain that that is what it is?", Alfred skeptically asked. "Well, I've ran some tests, and it has a higher degree of radiation than even Phazon.", Batman said. "Then why are you not ill?" "That's why I think it's Kryptonite. Kryptonite's harmless to humans." "If you two are done wasting time talking, you have a cure to find.", Samus interrupted, appearing from the elevator. "I think I have, Samus.", said Batman. He turned towards an odd-looking machine. As Batman placed the Kryptonite in a container attached to the middle of it, Alfred attached the machine's thick cord to a giant outlet in the cavern wall. Electricity crackled through the cord to the machine, and it hummed to life. Samus heard the machine transforming the Kryptonite, melting it. "Okay, Alfred, that's enough.", Batman said. "Of course, sir." Alfred unscrewed the cord from its outlet and set it down. The machine's hum faded into silence. Batman detached the container from the machine and carried it over to a different machine, which had dozens of test tubes set on a rotating horizontal wheel. He poured the container's melted contents into one of the test tubes. Pulling a lever on this machine, it spun the melted Kryptonite into it, out of sight. Another test tube was pulled into the machine, and when it emerged again, it was filled with the orange liquid, along with the original test tube. This process continued with all the other test tubes, until they were all filled with the Orange Kryptonite liquid. "Now for the final step." Batman nodded towards Alfred, and Alfred went to a different area of the cavern, returning with three cardboard boxes. He set them down on a table, and as Batman opened the first box, Samus peered over his shoulder. What she saw surprised her. The box was filled with hypodermic needles. "And, what are you planning to do with those?", Samus asked, raising an eyebrow. "Fight radiation with radiation. I'm going to inject that supersoldier with one of these.", he said, holding up a filled needle. "Speaking of which, where is he?", Samus said, surprised. She stared at the empty slab with the snapped straps, which the super soldier had been restrained with. Batman's eyes narrowed. "Look out for him. He could be anywhere in this network of caverns. He could be in this very cave, for all we…", Batman said, but he never finished his sentence, because, at that very moment, the supersoldier, screaming like a wild animal, jumped down from an overhanging stalactite. Batman and Samus leaped out of the way, but Alfred, who's reflexes weren't nearly as good as either of theirs, stood rooted to the spot. "Alfred, get out of the way!", Batman shouted. Alfred tried to jump away, but the supersoldier grabbed him by the leg, lifted him over his head, and prepared to throw him. Batman threw himself at the supersoldier, grabbing him round the neck. Startled, the super-soldier dropped Alfred and concentrated on his new attacker. Samus ran to Alfred. "Quickly!", she said, grabbing him by his arm. She ran to the elevator and let him inside. "I shall leave the situation to you, then, Miss Aran.", Alfred quickly said. As the doors closed, Samus turned back towards the struggle. If she had her Power Suit on, she could have shot the supersoldier right where he stood. Unforunately, she didn't have enough time to put it on. As it was, the super soldier had thrown Batman to the far wall, and was charging right at him. Batman ducked below his punch and kicked him in the back of his knees. Surprised, the supersoldier stumbled and fell. As he was about to get back up, Samus stabbed a needle full of Orange Kryptonite into the side of his neck. The supersoldier, ignoring this needle stab, turned towards Samus and kicked her in her gut. She fell backwards, reeling from the sudden pain. Batman threw a batarang at the mutated man, and it stuck into his shoulder. Samus and Batman, together, jumped on top of the supersoldier, pinning him down with their combined strength. Batman started to notice something. The supersoldier was faintly glowing orange. And he was growing weaker. "Get off him. The Kryptonite's taking effect.", he told Samus. They both stood up, and watched as the supersoldier's skin turned a darker shade of orange every few seconds. The supersoldier's whole body started to shrink. Bulging biceps became human size. Massive legs turned to healthy-looking lengths. A few minutes later, it was over. He was a man again. "I thought you said humans are immune to Kryptonite.", Samus said, looking at Batman. "They are, but Phazon isn't.", he replied.

The Scarecrow hesitated for a moment as he looked at the teenage girl strapped to his examination table. True, this was a child he was going to experiment on, but he had found her on the street, selling her body so she could get her next high. She wouldn't be missed by anyone.

Besides, he needed a test subject, and kidnapping someone important would draw unwanted attention to him. Rationalizing his insane actions with this thought, Scarecrow inserted the breathing tubes into the barely-conscious girl's nostrils. "What….what are you doing to me?", the girl weakly said. The Scarecrow ignored her, humming an off-beat tune to himself as he attached the small can to the breathing pump. To him, this was his whole world. His hobby. Making people afraid of him. He _loved_ it. Flipping the machine's switch, it began to pump the fear gas from the small can through the tube and into the girl's nostrils. The gas almost instantly reached her nervous system. Her eyes opened wide with terror, and she began to scream. Scarecrow wondered what she was seeing. He patiently waited for the next minute, enduring her piercing wails. Finally, she fell silent. Underneath his sackcloth mask, Jonathan Crane smiled. His new gas worked perfectly. He walked over to the examination table and unstrapped the dead girl's body. Carrying her to the open window, he looked down into the abandoned street. Right below his window, he saw an open dumpster. _Perfect_, he thought to himself. He lifted the girl out of the window and let her drop six stories down to the dumpster. "That takes care of _that_.", he said cheerfully to himself. Of course, he would need to go down there and close the dumpster lid, but he could do that on his way out. Scarecrow had been delayed the previous night because of nosy police officers that had searched the motel he was hiding in. He had to flee, find some abandoned building, which he did. He couldn't wait any longer to try out his new drug, so he disguised himself as a poor hobo, searched for someone by themselves in the city, followed them, and knocked them out cold. And what better person to kidnap than a hooker? They were expendable to _everyone_ in this God-forsaken city. That was Scarecrow's reasoning. Sitting on the floor, cross-legged, his thoughts turned towards Batman. The Dark Knight. The only thing that ever truly scared him.

It had been too long since Samus had done anything fun. It was always, "Hunt this, kill this.", never time for anything else. She had an apartment on Corland, but she hardly ever went there. When she did, it was only to have a quick shower, get a bite to eat, and maybe take a small nap. After that, she reported straight back to Federation HQ. She sometimes regretted that she never formed any solid relationships with anyone. Besides her parents, she never had one with anyone, not even Adam. No friends, no boyfriends, not even a pet. Her career was her whole life. So, when Samus accessed the Internet on the Batcave's computer and discovered online games, she started to forget about why she was even on Earth and what she was supposed to do. She became absorbed in a game called "Pacman". Dozens of levels later, she was still going strong. Samus hadn't even lost one life yet. "Having fun, are we?", someone said behind her. Samus turned around to face Batman, seeing him standing with another young man, slightly shorter, but almost as well built. He was dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt, with loose black hair, which hung a bit past his ears. _Kind of handsome_, Samus thought as she looked at him. "Samus, meet Dick Grayson, the former Robin.", Batman said. "Oh…..um, hi!", Samus said as she extended her hand. "Nice to meet you.", Dick said. "So, Bruce, is it ready?", Dick asked. "Give me a minute.", Batman said. He headed off to the far end of the Batcave and disappeared behind a sliding door. Dick stood near Samus, staring at nothing in particular. Samus suddenly became self-conscious, worrying about how her hair looked, how thin she was, and whether or not she looked better with her hair down or done up. _This is stupid. You're a fierce bounty hunter, not a girly-girl. You've fought giant monsters before. Why should you be worried about some man? Even if he is cute… No, stop. Don't think like that. He's one of Bruce's friends, not your boyfriend. You hardly even know him. Get it together, Samus._ Dick interrupted her inner turmoil by talking. "Something wrong?", he asked her. Samus realized that she had been staring at him the whole time. "Um…no. No, I'm fine.", Samus replied. She looked into Dick's brown eyes, and thought about how well they matched his face. "Could you…..stop…staring?", Dick asked, as politely as he could. Samus quickly looked away. "Sorry…", she said. Samus was saved from an awkward silence by Batman, who returned carrying a huge, metal version of a briefcase. "I've added a new armor to the costume. It'll stop a tank bullet.", said Batman, handing Dick the briefcase. "Thanks, Bruce. Say, this is kinda heavy. Can you help me carry this upstairs? Alfred can help carry it to the car once we're up there.", said Dick. "I guess. Be right back, Samus.", Batman said. Dick and Batman each grabbed an end of the briefcase and carried it towards the elevator. Once they were alone in the elevator, Dick said the thing that had been on his mind since he laid eyes on Samus for the first time. "There something wrong with her?", Dick asked. "What do you mean?" "She wouldn't stop staring at me when you were getting my suit. I think she was checking me out.", replied Dick. "Checking…….you out?", said Batman, smiling on the inside. "Yeah. She's kinda weird. Pretty hot, though."

"What took you so long?", Samus asked, impatient. "Just talking to Dick.", said Batman. "He didn't……say anything about me, did he?", she asked nervously. "He thinks you're hot.", Batman replied. "Oh God.", Samus said. "I know you might find him handsome, but you can't let him distract you from our mission.", said Batman . "Oh, shut up, Bruce! I don't _like_ him!", said Samus, blushing. _What is this? I _never _blush! _"Sure. Maybe you and Alfred can go into town today and pick out an engagement ring.", Batman replied. "Excuse me, Master Bruce, but Lucius Fox is at the front door.", Alfred interrupted, walking through the elevator. "Tell him I'll be right there. I need to get into a less conspicuous outfit." "Yes, sir. Oh, and when shall I be taking Miss Aran into town?", Alfred asked.

"Bruce! I haven't seen you in weeks! Where have you _been _all this time?", Lucius Fox said, satisfied that he could finally talk to him. Bruce, without missing a beat, thought up a suitable excuse. "Well, for the first few days, I was sick. After that, I needed to see a dying friend of mine in Europe." Lucius looked at him, not fully believing what Bruce had said, but decided to leave it alone. "Anyway, WayneTech's new battle exo-armor has been experiencing a…..minor setback.", said Lucius. "How minor?", Bruce said, raising his eyebrows. "It's LexCorp, Bruce. They've copied our idea. They're trying to make an exact copy of our prototype. We could be tied up in the courts for years over patent infringement.", Lucius explained. "Is there any proof that we've made ours first?", asked Bruce. "We've checked the records in Applied Sciences, and the earliest recorded date of pre-production was in April. I don't know if that'll help, though. LexCorp could make false documents, if they really wanted to." "Hmm……. This sounds a little crazy, but have you tried carbon dating? Are there any materials in the suit that are high in carbon?", inquired Bruce. "There probably are, but carbon dating costs a fortune. You know that, Bruce." "Well, then, it's a good thing I _have_ a fortune." "Are you saying…", Lucius said. "As much money as it takes to beat LexCorp, it's yours."

"Bruce, I've found something!", Samus exclaimed, grabbing him by his arm and leading him to her ship. Once the two were inside, Bruce looked at her. "What?", he said, annoyed. "It's the Space Pirates! They're… they're orbiting the Earth! I think they're waiting for us to make a move!", said Samus. "Well, what did you expect? They're Space Pirates. They've found you. Of course they're wanting to fight you. You blew up their whole facility on Zebes. Revenge is probably the first thing on their mind.", replied Bruce. "What do we do?", asked Samus. "The most direct thing. We fight them head on." "That's what I was hoping you'd say. Look what they sent me.", Samus said. She used her ship's computer to make a message appear in strange letters. "Is that….Space Pirate language?", Bruce asked, his eyes widening. "Yes. Translated, it says 'We are coming'."

The Space Pirate cruiser settled down onto the desert ground. Inside the cruiser, the Space Pirate captain spoke to the pilot. "What is this? Why are we in the desert?", the captain demanded. "I'm sorry, sir, but I received direct orders from our lord that we are to land here, in this location.", the pilot replied. "Oh…, well, then…carry on.", the captain said, mortified. "Yes, sir." The captain, wondering as to why they landed in such an empty place, proceeded to the throne room of Ridley. "My lord, please forgive my ignorance, but why are we miles away from the designated location?", the captain inquired. "Do not worry, my loyal servant. Even now, we are sending another message to Aran, telling her of our location. She already knows that we are on the planet. In fact, she is the only one who knows, ever since we blasted those Federation ships in orbit.", replied Ridley. "But my lord, why the _desert?" _"Because, we do not want to go to her. We want her to come to us. That way, we can make the necessary preparations." "Such as?", the captain asked. "We have a whole team of Elite Pirates meeting with up with us, and three Omega Pirates.", Ridley said. "How did we accomplish that in so short of a time?" "Once we had the supersoldier formula, it did not take long to ship it back to our headquarters on Aether. Very soon, our science team was able to produce stronger, faster Space Pirates within days, thanks to the formula." The captain was amazed. "Within…days? How…. In all of our previous experiments, we were never able to do that with Phazon…." "I have explained enough. You may go.", said Ridley, dismissing him with a wave of his hand. The Space Pirate captain walked out, stunned. _A whole team of Elites…and three Omegas. Unbelievable. _

After a few minutes of discussion in Samus's ship, a new message came up on the computer screen. "Another one…", Samus said, walking over to the screen. As she accessed the new message, her eyes widened in surprise. Bruce peered over her shoulder. "Those look like..", Bruce said. "….map coordinates.", finished Samus. "Are they telling us where they are?" "It seems to be.", Samus confirmed. Bruce opened the hatch to the ship and stepped out. "Where are you going?", Samus asked. "To get ready. We leave within the hour."

To be concluded……

Metroid is a trademark of Nintendo.

Metroid created by Gunpei Yokoi.

Batman is a trademark of DC comics.

Batman created by Bob Kane.


End file.
